The final mountain stage of the 2005 Tour de France passed comfortably yesterday for Lance Armstrong who, barring injury or mishap, will accept his seventh consecutive title in Paris on Sunday.

The 180.5-kilometre stage 16 from Mourenx-Pau took the peloton over the Col d'Aubisque, which climbs 16.5km at an average gradient of 7%, and represented the last chance for the American's rivals to mount a serious challenge.

However, a few quixotic charges by T-Mobile's Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov aside, Armstrong and his Discovery team-mates exerted complete control over a timid peloton.

The Texan will head east tomorrow and then head north for the French capital, knowing the worst of the road is behind him.

He is two minutes, 46 seconds clear of the Italian Ivan Basso in second place, a lead which is unlikely to be reduced significantly in the coming days.

Yesterday's stage was taken by Phonak rider Oscar Pereiro of Spain who won a four-man sprint ahead of Cadel Evans, Eddy Mazzoleni and Xabier Zandio.

Pereiro described the victory as his "life's dream" and, with the quartet finishing over three minutes ahead of the peloton, he moved up from 24th to 15th overall.

Australian Evans and the rest of his compatriots rode with black armbands yesterday as a mark of respect for the Australian women's team rider Amy Gillett, 29.

She was killed after being hit head-on by a car while on a training ride with her team-mates in eastern Germany.

All six riders in the group were in the collision. Three were seriously hurt, while two are in a satisfactory condition in hospital.